


The Quietest Of Nights

by Wildcard



Category: League of Legends
Genre: M/M, PTSD, past mention of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildcard/pseuds/Wildcard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Talon was captured while on a mission in Demacia. He's back now, but not all of him. Ezreal tries to tend to the pieces that are left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Quietest Of Nights

**Author's Note:**

> Written for arcaneshifting!

Ezreal woke to an empty bed and a dark room. The space where Talon should’ve lain was still warm. Ezreal sighed and got out of bed groggily as well, heading up the stairs to the roof.

Talon was hunched over there, seated at the edge with his legs dangling over the edge. Ever since the Demacians had captured him, he’d preferred open spaces to confined ones, heading to the roof when he woke from his nightmares. No matter what Ezreal did, he couldn’t convince Talon to wake him instead of going off alone.

It was still hard not to take it personally but Ezreal knew it wasn’t about him. Whatever the Demacians had done, they’d changed Talon. Ezreal had never really paid attention to the rumors of harsh Demacian justice before - stories about their merciless attitude towards crime were far less interesting than whispers of hidden treasure and adventures awaiting.

He’d dated Lux. He knew she’d worked interrogation and infiltration before, that she was part of the Demacian Commandos.

He also knew she’d never tell him what went on in the dungeons of Demacia.

And neither would Talon.

“Hey,” Ezreal said, pitching his voice low and soft as he approached slowly. Arcane Shifting would end up with Talon throwing a blade at him. It was better to give him plenty of space and warning when he was in these moods.

Talon tensed a little, voice flat when he spoke, “Did I wake you?”

“Nah,” Ezreal answered, sitting down next to Talon. He slid an arm around Talon’s waist, cuddling into his boyfriend and offering what warmth and comfort he could. Talon got a light kiss on the cheek before Ezreal rested his cheek against Talon’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t mind if you did though. Better than waking up to find you gone.”

Talon huffed but said nothing. He rarely did now.

“You keep acting like this and I’m gonna have to change my joke to ‘Demacians… I hate those guys’,” Ezreal teased.

Still no reaction.

Ezreal sighed, letting the two of them sitting quietly for a few minutes before he tried again:

“Whatever they did to you, it’s not going to happen again,” he promised. “I fucking swear, Talon, I won’t let it–”

“Let it?” Talon’s voice was sharp suddenly, the laugh he gave verging between bitter and broken. “Are you saying that I _let_ them capture me?”

“No. That’s not what I meant,” Ezreal backtracked quickly, knowing Talon blamed himself too much already. “You evaded a whole squadron, it’s not like you just walked into their hands or anything–”

“Right. But you can somehow protect me better than I can protect myself,” Talon hissed, spinning one of his knives agitatedly between his fingers.

Ezreal knew better than to be hurt by Talon’s tone. That didn’t stop him from flinching anyway. He wasn’t used to having to walk on eggshells around Talon. Talon was supposed to be the stronger one.

It wasn’t until Talon had been captured that Ezreal realized how much he’d cared for the assassin.

It wasn’t until Talon came back broken that Ezreal realized how much he’d be willing to do for Talon’s sake.

“No. I can’t. You’re better at that kind of thing,” he admitted, trying to soothe Talon’s hurt ego and hoping his boyfriend wouldn’t take it for meaningless flattery.

Talon didn’t respond. That was a good sign, these days, with how volatile Talon’s temper had become.

Ezreal risked kissing him on the mouth this time, slow and soft, not giving up until Talon finally started to kiss back. Warmth bloomed in Ezreal’s chest, a dangerous hope that he couldn’t relinquish because no matter what they’d done to Talon in that dungeon, Talon was here now and Talon was his. He could heal whatever had happened as long as Talon stayed with him instead of going off into his own memories.

“All I’m saying is…” The next few words were still novel to Ezreal, still a little hard to get out, “…I love you. And I’m gonna protect you as best as I can.”

Talon turned his head and studied Ezreal. The moonlight bleached all the color from the assassin’s eyes, leaving them endlessly dark and perpetually haunted. The ghost of who he had been, a cocky young man with an ego to rival Ezreal’s, stood between them and then stepped aside as Talon leaned in and kissed Ezreal this time, cautious as if Ezreal were glass.

“They wore your face,” he murmured against Ezreal’s mouth. “I knew it wasn’t you but it looked like you and spoke like you.”

The horror of Talon’s words took a few seconds to sink in but when it did, Ezreal blanched, whiter than fresh milk at the thought of what Talon must’ve endured. All the League knew they were lovers. What better way to break a man than have his lover torture him?

“I would never hurt you,” he promised, finding Talon’s hand with his own and interlacing their fingers. “Never.”

Talon watched him for a few seconds longer, face oddly expressionless, then squeezed Ezreal’s fingers. “I know.”

After a few seconds, he asked, “Want to make me some hot chocolate? It’s freezing up here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Ezreal shoved himself back off the edge, then got up, tugging at Talon’s hand to coax Talon to go with him. “You have to keep me company though. What if I burn myself and you’re not there to save me?”

The barest hint of a smile flickered over Talon’s lips, so small and subtle that it could’ve just been a trick of the moonlight.

Ezreal chose to take it for a smile and a sign of recovery. Talon was at least talking about what the Demacians had done now. That was good.

They’d get through this. He’d get Talon back.

And then maybe he’d help Talon get his own back on the Demacians.

Demacians. He hated those guys.


End file.
